Ridge Vents Are More Than Decorative Roof Accessories

MANASSAS, Va. - April 20, 2013 - PRLog -- Jake and Tina Morrison were ecstatic when the offer they made on their first home purchase was accepted. After a few months of intensive house hunting, the young couple ready to give up and keep their rented condo. Then their realtor turned up a home in the Baldwin Oaks community that was going for much less than the market value because of some damage from the hurricane winds a few months ago.

The damage to the house appeared minimal – a few sections of missing siding and broken window shutters. Jake Morrison hired a handyman to take care of the repairs and felt satisfied the house was in order. Unfortunately he disregarded the handyman’s warning that the roof needed attention as well.

“He told me the ridge vent on the roof had come loose in a few places and should be fixed,” reported Morrison. “I told him I would have him come back another time. The truth was the down payment on the house had used up our savings and we hoped to put off the repairs until later. It looked bent up on the east side of the house, but I had no idea how bad it was.”

The new home owners learned a hard lesson as a result of the stormy weather that has been affecting the region.  The Morrison’s both commute to a D.C. hospital where they work 12-hour shifts. They had a rude awakening when they returned home late yesterday evening.

Jake Morrison appeared grim when he described the damage. “The dining room ceiling was torn open like an explosion had gone off. The room was flooded, and chunks of wet drywall and plaster were all over our dining room furniture. The hardwood floor was soaked. This morning it was curled up and splitting in a few areas.”

Morrison called in Ken Briesemeister, a local roofing contractor to inspect the roof. Apparently the high winds last year partially tore the ridge vent from the roof on east end of the house, directly above the dining room. It left a 2-inch gap exposed to the weather on an 8-foot section of the roof.

“It was like having the water from a swimming pool dumped into the attic. It had nowhere to go but down,” said Briesemeister. “I’m sorry to say that it will cost the Morrison’s a few thousand dollars to clean up the mess and replace their hardwood floor. In the meantime we replaced the ridge vent and they won’t have any more problems from the rain.”

Jake and Tina Morrison hope their lesson will be a warning to other home owners to pay attention to anything that might be wrong with their roof. As storms and gusty winds continue to threaten the D.C. and Baltimore area, Manassas residents would be wise to secure their homes against potential flooding and damage.

Ken Briesemeister is the owner of Improve Today Inc, a Manassas, VA roof repair company. You can visit his website at http://roof.net/repair-va/manassas/ or read his roof maintenance tips for homeowners on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roof-Repair/268357463218519.